Taffy and Me

My name is Bill Fireman. I am 69 years old and I live in Marlboro, NJ with my wife, Ilene, and my son Michael. I practiced law in New York City for 46 years, until December, 2010, when I retired. That same month we lost our miniature schnauzer, Licorice, after 13 1/2 years. We had four dogs, three of them miniature schnauzers, over the years, and when we lost Licorice we were devastated. We knew that we had to get another dog, but we decided to try a different breed. We agreed to get a cockapoo. I haven’t regretted the choice.
 
 
I went to the internet, and under “New Jersey Cockapoo Breeders” I found the website of Purebred Breeders, Inc. They had pictures of cockapoo puppies who were for sale on their website, and I was absolutely bowled over by an unbelievably cute little face, which belonged to a then four week old puppy. I had to have that dog, and I put a deposit on her. It turned out that the breeder was a very nice lady at Treehouse Kennels in Spring Hill, Fla., named Nancy Kipfer. I spoke to Nancy several times over the telephone, and she said that she was a grandmother who kept her puppies in her kitchen, where her grandchildren played with them, and they were thoroughly socialized.

I should note that I do not generally recommend buying a dog sight unseen over the internet the way I did. There are too many puppy mills out there, and you never know what kind of conditions the puppy was raised in. In my case, however, I don’t believe that the kennel I bought my dog from was a puppy mill, and the bottom line was that I couldn’t have found a more wonderful dog. My experience with Nancy at Treehouse Kennels was overwhelmingly positive, and despite my general reservations about buying a dog over the internet I would highly recommend her without reservation.

By February, 2011, the puppy was eight weeks old, and she was sent to me by air from Florida, with a stop in Atlanta. We picked her up at Newark Airport and took her home. As soon as we got home we let her out of the carrying case. We expected her to be exhausted from her travels, and in no mood to be sociable. Instead, out of the case came a lively little dog, whose attitude was “OK. I’m here. Lets play.” She gave us lots of kisses. That attitude hasn’t changed a bit since we first met her. We named our dog Taffy.

Taffy soon demonstrated that she was a disciple of Will Rogers – she never met a man (or woman) she didn’t like. Everyone she meets gets many Taffy kisses. She isn’t a great watch dog. If a burglar came in the house she would probably watch. But she might lick him to death. She has the sweetest personality of any dog I have ever seen.
 
 
Taffy loves to play with her toys, and she has many of them. She likes toys that squeak, and her favorite is a stuffed dog that we refer to as “big doggy”. There are times, particularly when we are watching television, that big doggy has to be taken away for a few minutes so we can hear the program. She has stuffed squirrels that she can remove from a hollow tree, which also squeak and are favorites of hers. Taffy likes to chew on her Nylabone, and often brings it to me to hold at one end while she chews on the other end. She will bring over a ball, or one of her other toys, and ask me to throw it to her so she can catch it. She catches quite well. I wish the Mets had a few outfielders who could do as well. Taffy is a southpaw – also a northpaw, eastpaw, and a westpaw.

She is a true lap dog. We have a large recliner in which I like to sit and watch television. As soon as I sit down Taffy is in my lap, where she will usually sleep peacefully. Sometimes I fall asleep in the chair and we nap together. If there is a dog on the television screen Taffy will watch with great interest, sometimes attempting to initiate a conversation with her new friend. Her favorite program is Cesar Millan, “The Dog Whisperer”.

We often go to the dog park together. Taffy likes to run around with the other dogs, and gets along with other dogs very well. She likes the people that she meets at the dog park too. If someone is sitting on a bench she has been known to jump onto his or her lap, and lick that person’s face. Fortunately, the people she has done that to have thought it was very cute and haven’t complained about it.

I am always nervous about taking her to the dog park, however. There is always the threat of an overly aggressive dog who might hurt other dogs. But Taffy seems to get along well with other dogs, and if a dog gets too aggressive she will go into submissive position, and the other dog will generally leave her alone. It remains a potential problem, however.

Taffy eats “By Natures Organic Dogfood”, and seems to thrive on it, but I have been told that the brand is going to be discontinued. If that’s the case we’ll have to find another dogfood for her. She likes Bil-Jac dog treats and Milk-Bone dog biscuits. We don’t give her table scraps, although we occasionally give her an apple, a carrot, or a cucumber, which she enjoys.
 
 
As I said before, I am now retired. Ilene is a few years younger than me, so she intends to continue working for another year or two. That leaves me alone with Taffy a good deal of the time, except for when I take seniors courses at Rutgers to keep my mind active. We have formed a close bond and we can keep each other amused for hours. It is amazing how much love she gives and gets. When Ilene and Michael come home they play with Taffy. She is a joy, and we all feel very fortunate to live with this wonderful dog.

Bill’s Cockapoo Place Member Information is: BillF @valjean24601

More Cockapoo Dads